Why is it that highly addictive substances like tobacco/ nicotine are legal, but marijuana, which is not addictive and a thousand times safer, illegal?
2007-11-27 11:06:20 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Thank you! I like that fact too! For some reason it is comforting to me to know that I actually have a life!
2007-11-27 11:18:05 · update #1
The active chemical in marijuana is THC. What THC does is it prohibits inhibitors from blocking cells that produced dopamine (in other words it replicates the bodies natural andenemines). All this does is over stimulates the cell, causing happiness. The part of the brain that is affected is the one that deals with motor skills and short term memory. There are no addictive chemicals. All of these so called "new studies" would be impossible to achieve since cannabis is illegal and it cant be researched. This seems like a case of "Reefer Madness" (1939 film that said weed caused death).
The reason it is illegal is because in the early 1900s there was a small depression happening. Also many people in the southern US area had a hatred of Mexicans (the ones who cultivated weed) and they decided to ban it to screw them over.
Tobacco/nicotine are legal because they didnt have the research at the time to show it was bad and right now too much money is involved to illegalize it.
2007-11-27 11:59:45 · answer #1 · answered by PTK 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Trooper, the main chemical compound in Marijuana is not physically addictive, psychologically, perhaps, but physically THC is not addictive. As far as safety goes, it isn't any safer in the short term.
As far as the question at hand, it's illegal because of it's long standing and much debated history. I don't want this to turn into a debate so if you're really interested, a little googlin' will help, or you can e-mail me.
A little tid bit that might start your search: Prior to it's ban and during the time it was banned, it was widely believed (early early to mid 1900's) that it caused craziness and was linked to..."lesser" races.
2007-11-27 19:21:35 · answer #2 · answered by razzlephrat 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Clearly you've not read recent studies of marijuana have you? The debate of legalising cannabis is constantly changing, and lately it's more against as more research is showing the effects of it. For example skitzophrenia, although it's a low percentage of cases, it's still worrying.
It's not safer? Have you ever tried it? Yeah it might make you calm etc, but it has different effects on some people, and I've seen a lot of cannbis addicts actually, because substances from cigs are put in it too..
A lot of the drugs which are illegal make you hallucinate which clearly isn't all that good.
2007-11-27 19:21:56 · answer #3 · answered by elin j 4 · 1⤊ 3⤋
If the legislature passes a law that makes a given drug illegal, it is illegal. Otherwise, it is generally legal by default. The reasons why ANY law is passed are nearly ALWAYS more about appearance than any logical basis.
2007-11-27 20:25:37 · answer #4 · answered by STEVEN F 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I must have missed the news the day the proclaimed marijuana non addicting and 1,000 times safer.
If you want a credible answer, you should post a credible source for your information.
2007-11-27 19:10:38 · answer #5 · answered by trooper3316 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
Taxation, morality, accepted norms. Burn one and contemplate those for starters.
2007-11-27 19:14:52 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋